NPR News 2009-06-17 加文本
NPR News 2009-06-17
From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Speer.
President Obama is weighing in today on the disputed presidential race in Iran, though he also appears to be treading cautiously, not wanting to, as he put it, meddle in Iranian politics. President said he welcomed the decision by Iran's supreme leader to examine the vote count between incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Though in an interview with CNBC today, the president also said he is not sure there is a huge difference between the two.
"The difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised. Either way we are going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States."
President's comments come as thousands of Mousavi's supporters took to the streets of Tehran for a second day to protest the election results.
Responding to concerns expressed by officials about the legitimacy of Friday's presidential election in Iran, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister says that while he does not believe there was any fraud, he cannot say for sure. Alison Roberts reports from Lisbon.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari had a ready response for US officials questioning his country's election results.
"Obama should talk about the other countries. They respect him, but they don't have the freedom of speech. In Iran, it is a democracy. The people have participated."
Speaking to Portugal's Radio Renascenca, Safari said that while he believes there was no fraud in Friday's election, he is not himself in a position to judge. The ongoing demonstrations against the declared results are legitimate if unauthorized, he said, but arson or violence must be punished and foreign governments stop trying to manipulate the situation. He cited declared turnout of over 80%, more than twice that in the recent European parliament election, has proved that Iran's vote was the more democratic. For NPR News, I'm Alison Roberts in Lisbon.
General Motors has reached a tentative deal to sell its Saab division. Jerome Vaughn of member station WDET has more.
GM has signed a memorandum of understanding with Koenigsegg Automotive for the purchase of Saab. The purchase price has not been released. Koenigsegg is a small maker of expensive sports cars in Sweden. The company has just 45 employees. It will take over Saab which has about 3,400 employees. Saab filed for bankruptcy protection in Sweden in February. General Motors followed suit in the US earlier this month. GM's restructuring plan includes the sale or elimination of the Saab, Hummer, Pontiac and Saturn brands. The European Investment Bank is expected to provide about $600 million in funding for the Saab sale. GM says the deal should be completed by the end of the third quarter. For NPR News, I'm Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.
Republican senator John Ensign has reportedly admitted to having an extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff. In a statement to the Associated Press today, the Nevada republican said "I deeply regret and I’m very sorry for my actions." Ensign has been considering a presidential bid in 2012.
This is NPR.
The price tag for President Obama's overhaul of the nation's healthcare system keeps climbing with the latest analysis by a couple of senate sources, putting the cost at a whopping $1.6 trillion over ten years. Senate staffers-one democrat and one republican submitted their estimates today. Earlier this week, a budget officer has said a senate committee version of healthcare reform would cost about a trillion dollars over ten years while only covering about a third of the 50 million people in the US who currently lack health insurance.
Bond has been raised $15 million and a hearing has been continued for the man accused in the shooting death of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller in Kansas. From member station KMUW in Wichita, Carla Eckels reports.
51-year-old Scott Roeder remains jailed in Wichita on a 20 million dollar bond at an amount raised from five million. A transcript has been released of a recent telephone call between attorneys and a judge in the case of Roeder. And the document makes public for the first time why the Missouri man's bond was raised. Judge Warren Wilbert cited comments Roeder made to news media about other possible anti-abortion events. Roeder told the Associated Press that he knows there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal. Sedgwick County district attorney Nola Foulston told the judge prosecutors were concerned about community safety because Roeder can reach out to several people and blogs. The new day for Roeder's preliminary hearing is June 30th. For NPR News, I'm Carla Eckels in Wichita.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 107 points to close at 8,504. The NASDAQ was down 20 points today.
I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.
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